The Crusades and Encablossan War (KUF: The Crusaders/Heroes)
This is an abridged version of the storyline that takes place in Kingdom Under Fire the Crusaders and Kingdom Under Fire Heroes. The Crusades (Kingdom Under Fire: the Crusaders and Heroes) Ever since the end of the Second War of Heroes Bersia had remained somewhat peaceful. Rumors stirred of a man that unified all the Orcs and Ogres under a single banner. That man was known as Regnier, and was a servant of Vellond, a nation ruled by half vampires. War would soon rise again once the Patriarch of Ecclesia, a Pope-like figure, and a man named Walter had a vision from God to destroy a powerful artifact known as the Ancient Heart. The Ecclesians, being a church based state, never question the Lord's Will. The will carry out the order with unwavering faith and loyalty. However, Dark Elves are the only ones who know the location of the artifact. To find it Ecclesia has to make a pact with them, but to do so is blasphemy. If word ever got out that the Ecclesian's worked alongside Dark Elves it could destroy their legitimacy and power (since Dark Elves are considered to be uncivilized and incapable of enlightenment). As a result Walter makes a secret pact with a Dark Elf named Rithrin. However, as the deal goes down someone spotted them and ran away. With the churches legitimacy at risk, Walter must do whatever is necessary to make sure word of this deal never gets out. To avoid suspicion Walter has his entire army destroy a city along with nearby allied troops in hopes of eliminating whoever was spying on them. In order to mask suspicion he has the attack look like a Dark Elf raid. Gerald of Hironiden is sent by the Patriarch to the ruined city. Gerald, Ellen, and Rupert find the burning city and are outraged. The spot Dark Elves nearby and accuse them for the deed. They attack the Dark Elves and start the begining of an all out war. It’s the perfect rouse the Ecclesian’s need to recover the Ancient Heart. Vellond retaliates by sending its commanders Regnier and Lucretia to deal with the humans. Regnier crosses the border and kills Hironiden’s best general. With his death his two adopted sons (Gerald and Rupert) swear revenge on Regnier. Many battles take place and the Dark Elves capture Esse. However, when Regnier has his troops head to the Holy Ground, Lucretia and her forces soon get overwhelmed and defeated. Lucretia and her remaining forces follow Regnier to the Holy Ground. Hironiden and the Ecclesian Reclamation army follow Vellond's forces into the Holy Ground and assult it relentlessly. Gerald is confused by the churches strange motives, as they did virtually nothing to help them when Esse was sacked. He is completely unaware that the church started the war and that they are after the Ancient Heart. The church is simply using them as a meat shield in order to retrieve the artifact. It is then revealed that the Ancient Heart lays within the Holy Land. Gerald, Rupert, and Ellen track down Regnier and have a showdown. Gerald gets bested by Regnier and collapses in defeat. Rupert intervenes and attacks Regnier. Regnier takes Ruperts life and leaves Gerald and Ellen for dead. Walter retrieves the Ancient Heart and betrays Rithrin. Lucretia goes missing and loses command of her army. Walter and the Patriarch flee the Holy Ground and head for Nowart. General Kendal of Ecclesia is confused. He too is unaware of the Patriarchs’ motives. He chases after the Partriarch and Walter as they flee. The Partriarch begins to realize the Ancient Heart has the power to control Regnier. Regnier, as it turns out, is a legendary hero named Rick Miner who disappeared many years ago. The story has it he was led into a trap and killed. A wizard named Moonlight took the Ancient Heart and used it to bring him back to life. The artifacts power was so great that it made him godlike. The Ancient Heart contains the heart's of Nible and Encablossa. Bersia currently is controlled by Nible and is known as the age of Light. Should the Ancient Heart be destoryed it will change ages. As a result Bersia would then be controlled by Encablossa and the world will be turned into the age of darnkess. By fusing Regnier’s soul to the artifact he became Encablossa's/Nible's immortal avatar. The Partriach wants to use the ancient heart to control Regnier in order to destroy all of the Dark Legion. Walter gets upset because he'd be going against God's wishes. God wanted them to destroy the Ancient Heart at Nowart because it was evil. Walter realizes that the Partriarch is consumed by power and betrays him. He takes away the Ancient Heart and flees to Nowart. Meanwhile everyone is chasing after Walter as he flees. The Partriach wants the artifact so he can destroy the enemies of mankind. Regnier wants it so he has 100% control of himself. The Dark Elves want it to use Regnier to kill the Half Vampires (since the Dark Elves are ruled by Half Vampires and hate them). Kendal is issued to kill Walter and reclaim the artifact. Gerald chases after Regnier in order to kill him, even though it's obvious he can't. The Encablossan War Walter reaches Nowart and begins preparations for the destruction of the Ancient Heart. During this time his army is under attack by both Regnier's and Kendal's forces. Just before the last of Walter's army is defeated some soldiers manage to finish their preparations and destroy the artifact. What the Partriarch and Walter didn't realize is that it was the Dark Lord Encablossa that told them to destroy the Ancient Heart, not God. Encablossa knew that the Partriarch and Walter would follow a revelation blindly. Thus the age of light ends, and the age of darkness begins. The gigantic demon Encblossa emerges above the battlefield and consumes thousands of troops. It then unleashes it demons upon the world. All the armies in the battlefield get absolutely maimed and flee in all directions. With the Ancient Heart destroyed Regnier will slowly become mortal. Kendal heads to Ecclesia’s capital and defends it. Regnier flees to the south east. Regnier notices that Gerald is getting overwhelmed by the Encablossan demons and decides to save his life. The reason is that Regnier was Encablossa's living avatar, and thus knows his weaknesses. However, he needs Dwarven technology in order to do it. And thus he needs Gerald because he has an alliance with the dwarves. Regnier sends Gerald to the Ecclesian capital in order to get General Kendal’s help. Kendal heads to Jungsburg where he meets up with Regniers allies. It’s there they make the final plan to destroy Encablossa. The Dark Legion will summon a bone dragon to create a hole in Encablossas skin, while the Ecclesian’s will provide an airship to take them inside Encablossa. Gerald is left to defend the Ecclesian capital while Regnier and Kendal go destroy Encablossa. Once their forces get inside Encablossa they arrive in a completely different dimension. Here time flows randomly. They destroy Encablossas heart and end the age darkness. However, it traps them inside the Dark Dimension. Ecclesia soon collapses and gets taken over by Hironiden. Vampire rule over the Dark Elves ends with the death of their king. Gerald has a son named Glen, and is one of the leading characters in Kingdom Under Fire II. Eventually Gerald and Ellen pass away. None of the heroes that entered Encablossa return during his lifetime. See "The Dark Dimension (KUF: Circle of Doom)" for the events directly following this.